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Citizenship Test: Modern Canada since 1945

Postwar prosperity and social programs, NATO, NORAD and the United Nations, the Quiet Revolution, official languages and the Quebec referendums, the extension of the vote, refugees and multiculturalism.

  • 21 questions
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Modern Canada since 1945 · Question 1Score 0/0

Which of these is named in the guide as a place where Canada has served in UN peacekeeping missions?

Study reference: Discover Canada (IRCC online edition, 2026), Ch. 4 Modern Canada — Trade and economic growth, International engagement, Canada and Quebec, A changing society

All 21 questions in this test

Every question and its answer choices. The correct answers and explanations appear when you take the test above.

  1. Which of these is named in the guide as a place where Canada has served in UN peacekeeping missions?

    1. New Zealand
    2. Argentina
    3. Iceland
    4. Cyprus

  2. In which year did First Nations people registered under the Indian Act gain the federal vote without having to give up their status?

    1. 1960
    2. 1982
    3. 1948
    4. 1918

  3. In what year was Canada’s first Official Languages Act passed?

    1. 1982
    2. 1969
    3. 1963
    4. 1867

  4. In 1970, Canada helped found which international association?

    1. The Commonwealth of Nations
    2. The United Nations
    3. NATO
    4. La Francophonie

  5. Canada works with the United States in which air defence command?

    1. NATO
    2. The United Nations
    3. The G8
    4. NORAD

  6. Which military alliance did Canada join with other Western democracies during the Cold War?

    1. NORAD
    2. NATO
    3. La Francophonie
    4. The Warsaw Pact

  7. After the Communist victory in 1975, how many Vietnamese sought refuge in Canada?

    1. Over 50,000
    2. About 5,000
    3. About 37,000
    4. Over 500,000

  8. What began Canada's modern energy industry in 1947?

    1. The discovery of oil in Alberta
    2. The building of Niagara power stations
    3. Uranium mining in Saskatchewan
    4. Offshore drilling near Newfoundland

  9. According to Discover Canada’s account of postwar prosperity, in which year could a majority afford adequate food, shelter and clothing?

    1. 1967
    2. 1951
    3. 1919
    4. 1939

  10. Which law ensures common elements and a basic standard of health coverage across Canada?

    1. The Constitution Act, 1867
    2. The Canada Health Act
    3. The Quebec Act
    4. The Official Languages Act

  11. In which year was legislation establishing the Canada and Quebec pension plans adopted?

    1. 1982
    2. 1927
    3. 1940
    4. 1965

  12. What happened when the Constitution was amended in 1982?

    1. Quebec became a separate country
    2. It was amended without Quebec's agreement
    3. Quebec was given a veto on all laws
    4. French became the only language in Quebec courts

  13. Which group’s remaining federal voting restrictions were removed when Parliament ended racial franchise discrimination in 1948?

    1. Japanese Canadians
    2. Chinese Canadians
    3. South Asian Canadians
    4. Korean Canadians

  14. In which two years were Quebec sovereignty referendums defeated?

    1. 1970 and 1990
    2. 1980 and 2006
    3. 1976 and 1982
    4. 1980 and 1995

  15. Which postwar trade agreement preceded the WTO and helped open up trade after the Depression?

    1. GATT
    2. NAFTA
    3. NORAD
    4. NATO

  16. In what year did the federal government introduce unemployment insurance, now called employment insurance?

    1. 1940
    2. 1965
    3. 1951
    4. 1927

  17. What is the era of rapid change in Quebec during the 1960s called?

    1. The Great Upheaval
    2. The Quiet Revolution
    3. The Dirty Thirties
    4. The Patriote Rebellion

  18. By the 1960s, what share of Canadians had origins that were neither British nor French?

    1. Two-thirds
    2. One-third
    3. One-tenth
    4. One-half

  19. In which war did Canada take part in the UN operation defending South Korea?

    1. The Vietnam War
    2. The Gulf War
    3. The Korean War
    4. The Boer War

  20. About how many refugees did Canada welcome from Hungary after 1956?

    1. About 50,000
    2. About 370,000
    3. About 3,700
    4. About 37,000

  21. Which level of government provides publicly funded education?

    1. The federal government
    2. Provinces and territories
    3. Municipal councils
    4. School boards chosen by Ottawa

Modern Canada since 1945: key rules to remember

Our summary of what the official handbook says on this topic, in our own words. Read it before or after the practice questions above, then check the original chapter. Read the official chapter ↗

Trade and economic growth

  • The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) helped liberalize postwar trade. The World Trade Organization succeeded the GATT institutional framework in 1995; GATT rules also remain part of WTO agreements.
  • 1947: discovery of oil in Alberta began the modern energy industry.
  • Postwar prosperity meant that in 1951, for the first time, most Canadians could afford adequate food, shelter and clothing.
  • 1945–1970: one of the strongest economies among industrialized nations; today one of the world's highest standards of living, maintained by hard work and trade, especially with the U.S.
  • The plans were established through legislation in 1965, and contributions began in 1966. The date of the law and the start of operations are different.

International engagement

  • Canada developed autonomy gradually, like Australia and New Zealand.
  • Cold War: eastern European countries became part of a Communist bloc controlled by the Soviet Union under Stalin.
  • Canada joined NATO (military alliance of Western democracies) and, with the U.S., NORAD (North American Aerospace Defence Command).
  • Joined the United Nations; took part in the UN defence of South Korea in the Korean War (1950–53): 500 dead, 1,000 wounded.
  • UN peacekeeping in Egypt, Cyprus, Haiti; other operations in the former Yugoslavia and Afghanistan.

Canada and Quebec

  • 1960s: Quebec's era of rapid change = the Quiet Revolution; many Quebecers sought separation.
  • The Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism (1963) led to the Official Languages Act of 1969.
  • 1970: Canada helped found La Francophonie (international association of French-speaking countries).
  • Quebec sovereignty defeated in referendums in 1980 and 1995.
  • The Constitution was amended and patriated in 1982 without the Quebec government’s agreement. The Constitution nevertheless applies in Quebec, as elsewhere in Canada.

A changing society

  • More people took secondary and postsecondary education; more women entered the professional workforce.
  • In 1960, registered First Nations people gained the unconditional right to vote federally without giving up their status. Inuit, Métis and some First Nations people had different earlier voting histories, so 1960 is not a single first-vote date for all Indigenous people.
  • Refugees: about 37,000 who escaped Soviet tyranny in Hungary in 1956; over 50,000 Vietnamese after the Communist victory in 1975.
  • By the 1960s one-third of Canadians had origins neither British nor French.

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